Regulators say online retailer failing to do enough to prevent sale of unsafe children’s toys, among other items
The European Commission has accused the online retailer AliExpress of a “systemic failure” to prevent the sale of illegal and dangerous goods on its platform, as Brussels steps up its case against the Chinese company.
Issuing formal findings of an investigation launched in March last year, EU regulators said on Wednesday that AliExpress was failing to do enough to prevent the sale of counterfeit clothes and dangerous children’s toys, among other items.
The company, which claims 104 million monthly users in the EU, did not devote enough resources to content moderation to take down illegal goods on sale on its platform, regulators said.
An EU official said the company – which is owned by Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce group founded by the Chinese billionaire Jack Ma – had “underestimated the general risk of the sale of illegal products”. The official added: “General measures they have in place to avoid the dissemination of illegal products do not work properly – it shows a systemic failure.”
